Paper-feed mechanism for voting-machines.



G. G. ABBOTT. PAPER FEED MECHANISM FOR VOTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1912.

I 1,085,837. Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WMZZESSESI INVENTOR w MMW 'Jw. am BY ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH CO WASHINGTON, D. c.

O. G. ABBOTT.

PAPER FEED MECHANISM FOR VOTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JANISO, 1912.

Patented Feb. 3, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR m A5 0% WITNESSES:

A TTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAIH C0,,WASH1NGTON, D. c,

CHARLES C. ABBOTT, OF PITTSFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO TRIUMPH VOTING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION OF NEW JERSEY.

PAPER-FEED MECHANISM FOR VOTING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3,1914.

Application filed January 30, 1912. Serial No. 674,394.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES C. ABBo'rr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsfield, county of Berkshire, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Paper-Feed Mechanisms for Voting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to independent voting mechanism for voting machines, and more particularly to mechanism for feeding the strip, usually of paper, upon which the independent votes are recorded.

One object of the invention is to provide simple mechanism for effecting a uniform feed of the voting strip.

Other objects of the invention are to simplify and generally improve the construction of mechanism of this character and render the same more efficient and reliable in operation.

lVith these and other objects inview I have devised the novel mechanism which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly broken away, the rolls being shown without paper, and one of the independent shutters being shown in open position, the remainder of said shutters being closed. Fig. 2 is a vertical section, partly broken away, on line 2-2, Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view on line 2 -2 Fig. 2. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3, Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the uniform feed mechanism. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view of the clutch mechanism for controlling the feed roll. Fig. 6

is a detail perspective view of the roller frame forming part of the uniform feed 1 bra k t 17 mechanism.

For convenience the various features of the invention are shown as applied to independent voting mechanism of the general type shown and described in Letters Patent No. 914,007, granted to me March 2, 1909, to which reference may be had for a more complete description and illustration of p arts only briefly referred to herein.

10 denotes the back or shutter plate provided with voting apertures which are covered by shutters 11 arranged to slide vertically in suitable ways on the inner side of said plate.

12 (see dotted lines Fig. 1-) denotes the independent voting Strip which passes over a backing plate 13 rigidly secured in place contiguous to the voting apertures.

1a denotes the supply roll and 15 a combined receiving and feeding roll. The independent voting strip passes from the supply roll over the backing plate and the independent votes are written upon the portion of the strip supported thereby. After passing the backing plate the strip is wound upon the receiving roll.

16 and 17 denote brackets riveted to the back plate 10 and to the front plate 18 (see Fig. 3) of the machine casing.

19 (see Fig. 1) denotes a fixed stud secured to the bracket 16 and upon which one end of the supply roll 1a. is journaled. The opposite end of said supply roll is journaled upon a stud 20 slidably mounted in a guide or casing 21, and normally held by a spring 22 with its end within the l10l1OW end of said roll 14.

23 denotes a pin projecting from the stud 20 and extending through a slot 24: in the casing 21, said pin serving as a handle by which said stud 20 may be operated, and also acting, by engagement with the end of the slot 2 1, as a stop to limit the movement of said stud under the influence of the spring 22. In order to remove the supply roll 14 from the machine the stud 20 is moved to the left, as shown in Fig. 1, against the pressure of the spring 22, by means of the handle 23, out of the end of said supply roll, which may thereupon be disengaged from the fixed stud 19 and removed from the machine. The casing 21 is supported adjacent one end by the and at the other end by being riveted to the side wall 25 of the machine casing. \Vhile the roll 14 is readily detachable from the machine, its axis of rotation, when in place, is fixed by the alined studs 19 and 20.

The receiving or feed roll 15 is provided at one end with a journal 26 mounted in a substantially semi-cylindrical bearing 27. The opposite end of said roll 15 is provided with a fixed clutch member 28 having a reduced portion mounted in a semi-cylindrical bearing 29.

3O denotes a feed shaft which extends loosely through the roll 15 and is journaled in bearings 31.

The bearings 27, 29 and 31 are formed in brackets supported by filling pieces 32 secured to the shutter plate 10. Said filling pieces serve also to support the backing plate 13 and to space the same from the front plate 10 and shutters 11 to provide room for the passage of the paper strip 12 between said plates.

33 denotes pinions fixed to the feed shaft, said pinions engaging racks formed on operating bars 34 and 35 which reciprocate vertically and carry a closing bar 36.

37 denotes a clutch sleeve mounted 011 the feed shaft so as to rotate therewith but movable longitudinall 1 thereon. Said clutch sleeve cooperates with the clutch member 28 carried by the receiving roll 15, and is provided with a groove which is engaged by a clutch fork or shifter 38, hereinafter more fully described.

39 denotes a spiral gear fixed upon the feed shaft and through which said shaft is rotated by means of intermediate connections, not shown, after the voting operation.

40 denotes the clutch controlling or actuating slide which reciprocates in a suitable guideway on the outer face of the shutter plate, and which is provided with a cam block 41 and with a bracket 42 extending through openings in said plate. The cam block 41 is engaged by a cooperating cam block 43 carried by the closing bar 36 when said closing bar is lowered after the voting operation, thereby returning the actuating slide to its normal position after an independent voting operation, as will be more fully explained. The clutch shifter 38 is pivoted at 44 to a bracket 45.

46 denotes a rod pivoted at one end to clutch shifter 38, the other end of said rod passing loosely through an aperture in the bracket 42, and being provided with a pin 47.

48 denotes a spring surrounding the rod 46 and interposed between the bracket 42 and the end of the clutch shifter 38.

49 denotes a weight suspended from the clutch shifter 38 in such a position as normally to tend to move said shifter in the di rection to engage the clutch sleeve 37 with the clutch member 28. raid weight is provided for the purpose of insuring the operation of the clutch shifter at the proper time in case of breakage or other accident to the spring 48.

Each of the shutters 11 is provided with an outwardly extending ear 50 (see Fig. lying in the corresponding aperture for con venience in opening the shutter, and with an inwardly extending ear 51 arranged in the path of movement of the closing bar 36. Normally the shutters 11 are all closed and the bar 36, when in its lowermost position, by engagement with the ears 51, locks said shutters in closed position. The voter when entering the machine operates suitable ent 'ance mechanism, not shown, which, through connections heretofore referred to rotates the feed shaft 30 a definite amount in a direction to raise the bar 36 through the. pinions 33 and rack bars 34 and thereby unlocking the independent shutters. The shaft 30 then remains stationary during the voting operation. After the voting operation, when the voter leaves the machine, the entrance mechanism is again operated, which causes the shaft 30 to be rotated the same amount in the opposite direction, thereby lowering the bar 36 which, by engagement with the cars 51, closes all. open shutters. This rotation of the shaft 30 when the voter leaves the machine also causes the feed of the paper strip, as will presently be more fully explained.

52 deno the interlocking members and links connected to said members and having at their upper ends heads projecting through openings 54 in the shutter plate and openings 55 in the actuating slide 40. The

each of the shutters 11 is upper end of formed with an incline lVheu a shutter is in closed position the head on the corresponding link 53 lies in the lower portion of the opening 54. When a shutter is raised said head, through its engagement with the incline 56, is forced laterally toward the right, as shown in Fig. 1, against the wall of the corresponding opening 55 in the actuating slide, forcing said slide toward the right and taking the slack out of the corresponding interlocking member, as more fully described in Patent No. 914,007 heretofore referred to. This movement of the slide 40 causes the bracket 42 carried thereby to compress the spring 48, thereby oscillating the clutch. shifter 38 upon its pivot, and causing the on gagement of the clutch members 28 and 37. After the voting operation the shaft 30 rotated as heretofore described. If there has been no independent voting, 2?. 0., if no shutter 11 has been raised the. clutch members will not be in engagement, and the rotation of the feed shaft will have no effect on the paper receiving or feed roll 15. If there has been independent voting the clutch members will have been engaged as just described, and the rotary movement of the feed shaft will be imparted to the feed roll. At the same time the closing bar 36 will be (lltlWll downwardly, as heretofore explainml, until the cam block 1 3 is brought into engagement with the cam block 41 on the slide 40, .."hereupon the said slide will be moved toward the left (Fig. 1) into its initial po sition. During this movement the bracket 42 by engagement with the pin 47 carried by the rod 46 will positively disengage the clutch sleeve 37 from the clutch member 28.

If, after an independent voting operation, the feed roll 15 were rotated through a fixed are, at each operation of the machine, the amount of paper drawn thereby from the supply roll 14 would depend upon the thickness of paper wound upon said roll 15. It is desirable, however, that means be provided whereby a uniform length of paper, just sufficient for the purpose of recording a vote, be drawn from the supply roll after each voting operation. To this end mecha nism is provided for decreasing the arc of rotation of the feed roll as the thickness of paper wound thereon increases, thereby counteracting the tendency of this increased diameter of the feed roll to increase the length of strip fed at each operation. This mechanism, as herein shown, is as follows. 57 denotes a frame pivoted by means of a shaft or pintle 58 to a bracket 59 secured to the backing plate 13.

60 denotes a roller journaled in the frame 57 and resting by gravity upon the paper wound upon the receiving roll 15. The end of the frame 57 opposite the pintle 58 is connected by a link 61 with an arm 62 projecting from a collar 63 mounted to rotate freely on the clutch member 28. The collar 63 is provided with a pin 64 extending parallel to the feed shaft and having its end in a position to be engaged by a segmental flange 65 formed on the clutch sleeve 37. The arrangement is such that when the clutch member 37 is moved entirely out of engagement with the clutch member 28, as shown in Fig. 5, the flange 65 will clear the end of the pin 64, permitting said clutch member 37 and the collar 63 to be relatively rotated. When the collar 63 is turned into a position to bring the pin 64 opposite the flange 65, as shown in Fig. 4, the clutch members cannot be engaged until the shaft 30 and clutch member 37 have been turned a sufficient distance to move the flange 65 out of engagement with the end of the pin 64.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: \Vhen the receiving roll is nearly empty, the roller 60 will occupy its lowermost position and, by means of the link 61, hold the collar 63 in an angular position in which the pin 64 is at one side of the flange 65, as shown in Fig. 3. Under these conditions, when the actuating slide 40 is moved to permit the spring 48 or weight 49 to throw the clutch shifter 38 and engage the clutch, said clutch will be immediately engaged, causing the receiving roll 15 to be rotated an amount sufficient for the purpose required, when the clutch will become disengaged by the return of the actuating slide 40 to its normal position. The amount of as to cause the paper strip to be fed the desired amount when the roll 15 is nearly empty and consequently of its minimum di ameter. As the thickness of paper wound upon the roll 15 increases, causing the effec tive diameter of this roll to be correspondingly increased, the roller 60 rises and causes the collar 63 to be turned to bring the pin 64 opposite the flange 65, as shown in Fig. 4. \Vhen now the actuating slide 40 is shifted, as above described, the effect will be merely to compress the spring 48, since the engagement of the flange 65 with the pin 64 will prevent movement of the clutch sleeve 37. Therefore, as the shaft 30 is rotated the roller 15 will not be rotated there with until the flange has been moved angularly away from the pin 64, whereupon the spring 48 and weight 49 will cause the clutch to be engaged, so that the roller 15 will partake of the rotary movement of shaft 30 during the period of the clutch engage ment. It will thus be seen that the initial relative angular positions of the pin 64 and flange 65, and consequently the amount of rotation imparted to the receiving roll at each operation, will depend upon the thickness of the paper wound upon said roll, so that as said thickness increases the arc of rotation will be proportionately decreased so as to cause the length of strip fed at each operation to remain practically constant. The larger the roll of paper upon the receiving roll 15 becomes the later in the rotation of the shaft 30 will the engagement of the clutch members be effected.

In order to prevent a voter from reaching through a voting aperture and, by means of pressure applied by the fingers against the backing plate, drawing the paper downward a suflicient extent to allow him to record a second vote for the same office, the following mechanism is employed. 66 denotes a bracket riveted to the rack bar 34 and having a vertical bore in which is slidably mounted an operating device in the form of a plunger 67 having at its lower end a projecting operating arm 68.

69 denotes a spring interposed between a head on the plunger and a shoulder in the bore in the bracket 66, said spring normally holding the plunger 67 in an elevated position controlled by a pin 70 inserted in one of a series of holes 71 in the bracket 66. The pin 70, by engagement with the arm 68, limits the upward movement of the plunger 67 under the influence of the spring 69. so that the normal position of said arm 68 is controlled by the position of said pin.

72- and 73 denote telescoping tubular members provided with inter-engaging pins 74 and 75 arranged transverse to one another, (see Fig. 2) by means of which the telescoping movement of said members is guided this rotation of the receiving roll 15 is such 1 and their entire disengagement prevented.

76 denotes a spring interposed between said members. The member 73 is provided at its lower end with a friction shoe 7'? en gaging the journal 26 of the feed roll. 15 to prevent undue rotation of said feed roll when the paper feed is not in use and when the machine is being moved.

78 denotes a brake drum secured to the supply roll i l by means of a pin 79 entering a slot 80 in the end of said roll.

81 denotes a brake band cooperating with said brake drum. Said brake band is secured at one end to the tubular member 72 and at the other end to a lever 82 pivoted at 83 to said member '72 and ext-ended into the path of movement of the arm 68.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: firs the racl; bar 34; approaches the upward limit of its movement when the voter enters the machine, above explained, the arm 68 engages the lever 82, causing the brake band 81 to be tightened upon the drum 78. This application of the brake is a yielding one due to the spring 69, but by adjusting the pin the arm (38 can be arranged to engage the lever 82 at a slightly earlier or later point in the travel of the rack bar 84: in order to compensate for wear in the parts or otherwise as may be necessary. The tightening of the brake 81 ef fectually locks the supply roll 1 against rotation during the voting operation. lVhen the voter leaves the machine the shaft 30 is again rotated, as above explained, causing a downward movement of the rack bar 34. The initial effect of this downward movement is to cause the arm 68 to release the lever 82, thereby loosening the brake 81 and permitting the paper to be fed as above explained.

It will be observed that the downward movement of the rack bar 34- required to r lease the bralte S1 very slight in comparison with the total downward movement of this bar. The release of the supply roll 14 is therefore substantially simultaneous with the beginning of the feed when the roll 15 is nearly empty, or prior thereto when the uniform feed mechanism has been operated to delay the engagement of the clutch, as above explained. Any slight movement of the feed roll prior to the complete release of the brake 81 will, however, have no injurious effect inasmuch as the lock for the supply roll is not a positive one and by further reason of the fact that there is normally slight amount of slack in the paper more than suflicien t to compensate for any momentary holding of the supply roll when the feeding operation started. The mecha nism described for locking the strip against manual withdrawal is not claimed herei: as it cowred by the claims of a divisional application filed by me May 16, 1912, Serial No. 697,667.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. in a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a feed roll, a feed shaft, a clutch comieclinn' said roll and shaft, a clutch shifter, means ror controlling said clutch shifter, and a plurality of independently operative devices for operating said shifter when permitted by said controlling means.

2. in a mechanism of the character described, in combination a feed roll, a feed shaft, a clutch connecting said roll and shaft, a clutch shifter, means for controlling said clutch shifter, a. spring connecting said clutch shifter and controlling means, and a weight for operating said shifter when permitted by said controlling means.

In a mechanism of the character dcscribed, in combination, a combined strip receiving and feeding roll, a feed shaft, a clutch connecting said roll and shaft, yielding means for engaging said clutch, and means controlled by the amount of strip wound on said roll for preventing engagement of said clutch during a portion of the rotation of said shaft.

4. In a mechanism of the character de scribed, in combination, a combined strip receiving and feeding roll, a feed shaf, a clutch connecting said roll and shaft, a clutch shifter, means for controlling said clutch shifter, a spring connecting said clutch shifter and controlling means, means for operating said shifter when permitted by said controlling means, and means con trolled by the amount of strip wound on said roll for preventing engagement of said clutch during a portion of the rotation of said shaft.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a feeding roll, a feed shaft, cooperating clutch members carried by said roll and shaft respectively, and an angularly adjustable member on one of said parts having means to engage the clutch member on the other of said parts and prevent the engagement of said clutch members during a portion of the rotation of said shaft.

(3. In a mechanism of the character de scribed, in combination, a feeding roll, a feed shaft, cooperating clutch members carried by said roll and shaft respectively, an angularly adjustable member on one of said parts having means to engage the clutch member on the other of said parts and prevent the engagement of said clutch members, during a portion of the rotation of said shaft and means controlled by the amount of s 'p wound on said roll for operating said angularly adji sable member.

7. In mechanism of the character described, in combination, a feed roll, a feed shaft, cooperating clutch members carried by said roll and shaft respectively, a collar rotatably mounted on one of said clutch members and having a projecting pin, and a segmental flange on the other of said clutch members adapted to engage said pin and hold said clutch members out of engage ment.

8. In a mechanism of the character de scribed, in combination, a feed roll, a feed shaft, cooperating clutch members carried by said roll and shaft respectively, a collar rotatably mounted on one of said clutch members and having a projecting pin, a segmental flange on the other of said clutch members adapted to engage said pin and hold said clutch member out of engagement, a pivoted frame, a roller carried by said frame and resting on the strip wound on said feeding roll, and a link connecting said frame and collar.

9. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, means for feeding a strip forwardly, and intermittently operative means for automatically locking said strip against forward movement between operations of said feeding means to prevent the manual feed thereof.

10. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for intermittently feeding said strip, and intermittently operative means for automatically locking said supply roll between operations of said feeding mechanism to prevent said strip from being manually drawn from said roll.

11. In a mechanism of the character described in combination, a supply roll, a feed roll, a feed shaft, means for locking said supply roll, and means controlled by said feed shaft for controlling said locking means.

12. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for intermittently feeding said strip, intermittently operative means for locking said supply roll between operations of said feeding mechanism, a lever for operating said locking means, an arm arranged to engage said lever, and automatic means for operating sa'id arm.

13. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a supply roll, a receiving roll, a pair of telescoping members interposed between said rolls, a spring interposed between said members, a friction device carried by one of said members and en gaging said receiving roll, a brake carried by the other of said members and cooperating with said supply roll, a lever pivoted to said last-named member and connected with said brake, and automatic means for operating said lever.

14. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll,

means for intermittently feeding said strip, intermittently operative means for locking said supply roll between operations of said feeding mechanism comprising a brake drum on said supply roll, a brake band cooperating with said drum, a lever for tightening said band, an arm arranged to engage said lever, and automatic means for operating said. arm.

15. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a supply roll, a feed shaft, a feed roll rotated by said feed shaft, means for yieldingly locking said supply roll, and means controlled by said feed shaft for controlling said locking means.

16. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip, a lock for said supply roll, an operating bar, an operating device for said locking means slidably mounted on said bar, and a spring interposed between said device and bar.

17. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip, means for looking said supply roll, an operating bar, an operating device for said locking means slidably mounted on said bar, a spring interposed between said device and bar, and a stop for limiting the relative movement of said device and bar under the influence of said spring.

18. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip, means for locking said supply roll, an operating bar having a part provided with a plurality of holes, an operating device for said locking means movably mounted on said bar, and a pin adapted to enter any one of said holes to control the normal position of said operating device.

19. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip, means for locking said supply roll, an operating bar, an operating device for said locking means slidably mounted on said bar, a spring interposed between said device and bar, and an adjustable stop for limiting the relative movement of said device and bar under the influence of said spring.

20. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip, means for locking said suppty roll, an operating bar having a part provided with a plurality of holes, an operating device for said locking means slidably mounted on said bar, a spring interposed between said device and bar. and a pin adapted to enter any one of said holes to limit the relative movement of said device and bar under the influence of said spring.

21. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip including a receiving roll, a pair of telescoping members interposed between said rolls, a spring interposed between said members, and a friction device carried by each of said members and engaging said rolls respectively.

22. In a mechanism of the character described, in combination, a strip supply roll, means for feeding said strip including a receiving roll, a pair of telescoping tubular members interposed between said rolls, a

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES 'C. ABBOTT. IVitnesses EDMUND A. HAsKiNs, FRANCES R. Downs.

M Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

